Lymphatic diseases

Common venous and lymphatic diseases include chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), varicose veins, and lymphedema, and compression forms a part of the complex treatment program. 

Compression therapy involves the use of external pressure on the human body to treat venous and lymphatic diseases. Because liquids are able to swerve in the vascular system, the external pressure exerted on the body can have an obvious effect upon the tissues which are high in liquid content. In a medical sense, compression pressure is the resulting pressure on the enclosed tissue and embedded blood and lymphatic vessels. It can be generated by means of compression from outside (compression stocking, bandage, etc.), or from inside by the muscle which expands against the resistance of the compression. 

Additional information on the remarkably high rash rate in patients with mononucleosis infectiosa and other lymphatic diseases is given in several recent publications (19 --21 ). In one of them it was found that 15 out of 17 children with infectious mononucleosis developed rash 5—10 days after the beginning of ampicillin therapy (19 ). Since highly purified ampicillin preparations without proteinaceous material are available, ampicillin polymer is now suspected to be at least partly responsible for the ampicillin rash. The polymer does have a weak stimulating action on lymphocytes. In circumstances of altered cell function, such as occur in infectious mononucle-... 

Synthesis. Histamine [51-45-6] 2-(4-imidazolyl)ethylarnine (1) is formed by decarboxylation of histidine by the enzyme L-histidine decarboxylase (Fig. 1). Most histamine is stored preformed in cytoplasmic granules of mast cells and basophils. In humans mast cells are found in the loose connective tissue of all organs, especially around blood and lymphatic vessels and nerves. These cells are most abundant in the organs expressing allergic diseases the skin, respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal tract. 

Two forms of lymphatic filariasis are found in India. The Bancroftian form is the most common and accounts for more than 90% of the disease whereas Bmgian filariasis accounts for the rest. In a study carried out in India (6) in 40 patients with Wuchereria Bancwfti filariasis treated with single oral doses, all of the dose levels chosen (25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) were efficacious in clearing microfilariae from the blood of all patients treated. However, after three months some microfilaria recurred in the blood of most patients (Table 5). Further studies are planned and some are underway using different doses and regimens. Ivermectin still appears to hold promise as a new treatment for lymphatic filariasis. 

Sporotrichosis is the fungal disease caused by Sporotrix schenckii and involves the lymphatic and subcutaneous tissues. The lesions spread via the lymphatics from the original wound and form nodules or pustules that quickly ulcerate. Dissemination is rare. 

Amylase enters the blood largely via the lymphatics. An increase in hydrostatic pressure in the pancreatic ducts leads to a fairly prompt rise in the amylase concentration of the blood. Neither an increase in volume flow of pancreatic juice nor stimulation of pancreatic enzyme production will cause an increase in senm enzyme concentration. Elevation of intraductal pressure is the important determinant. Stimulation of flow in the face of obstruction can, however, augment the entry of amylase into the blood, as can disruption of acinar cells and ducts. A functional pancreas must be present for the serum amylase to rise. Serum amylase determination is indicated in acute pancreatitis in patients with acute abdominal pain where the clinical findings are not typical of other diseases such as appendicitis, cholecystitis, peptic ulcer, vascular disease or intestinal obstruction. In acute pancreatitis, the serum amylase starts to rise within a few hours simultaneously with the onset of symptoms and remains elevated for 2 to 3 days after which it returns to normal. The peak level is reached within 24 hours. Absence of increase in serum amylase in first 24 hours after the onset of symptoms is evidence against a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (76). 

Ovarian cancer usually is confined to the abdominal cavity, but spread can occur to the lung, liver, and less commonly, bone or brain. Disease is spread by direct extension, peritoneal seeding, lymphatic dissemination, and blood-borne metastasis. 

Lymphatic system The tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells that fight infection and disease. This system includes the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes and a network of thin tubes that carry lymph and white blood cells. 

Factors known to influence the clearance of drugs from interstitial sites, following extravasation or parenteral interstitial or transepithelial administration, include size and surface characteristics of particles, formulation medium, the composition and pH of the interstitial fluid, and disease within the interstitium. Studies indicate that soluble macromolecules smaller than 30 nm can enter the lymphatic system, whereas particulate materials larger than 50 nm are retained in the interstitial sites and serve as a sustained-release depot. The use of lipids or an oil in a formulation and the presence of a negative surface charge all appear to... 

Ottesen, E.A. (1992) Infection and disease in lymphatic filariais an immunological perspective. Parasitology 104, S7I-S79. 

Turner, P.F., Rockett, K.A., Ottesen, E.A., Francis, H., Awadzi, K. and Clark, I.A. (1994) Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor in the pathogenesis of adverse reactions after treatment of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Journal of Infectious Diseases 169, 1071-1075. 

Tumor size and the presence and number of involved axillary lymph nodes are primary factors in assessing the risk for breast cancer recurrence and subsequent metastatic disease. Other disease characteristics that provide prognostic information include histologic subtype, nuclear or histologic grade, lymphatic and vascular invasion, and proliferation indices. 

Patients with advanced disease commonly present with back pain and stiffness due to osseous metastases. Untreated spinal cord lesions can lead to cord compression. Lower extremity edema can occur as a result of lymphatic obstruction. Anemia and weight loss are nonspecific signs of advanced disease. 

In the Pre-Carpathian biogeochemical province with prevalent Eutric Podsolu-visols, enriched in lead and barium and depleted in chromium and vanadium, the predominant diseases are mieloleukemia, chronic lymphatic leukemia, hemorrhagic vasculitis, hypoanemia with a relatively low number of sharp leukemia, lung and stomach cancer. 

Infection 1. Invasion and multiplication of microorganisms in body tissues, which may be clinically unapparent or result in local cellular injury due to competitive metabolism, toxins, intracellular replication, or antigen-antibody response. The infection may remain localized, subclinical, and temporary if the body s defensive mechanisms are effective. A local infection may persist and spread by extension to become an acute, subacute, or chronic clinical infection or disease state. A local infection may also become systemic when the microorganisms gain access to the lymphatic or vascular system. 2. An infectious disease. [EU]... 

One likely reason for the prevalence of helminths is their undoubted ability to down-regulate the host immune system at both the antigen-specific and polyclonal levels [3], In many chronic diseases, such as schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis, peripheral blood T cells show dramatically impaired parasite antigen-specific responsiveness [4], as discussed in more detail below. Moreover, from early reports of immunosuppression in animal models of infection, to studies in Africa linking vaccine failure to heavy helminth infection, there is clear evidence that infections can diminish reactivity to bystander antigens, particularly with increasing intensity of... 

Our perspective is thus one of general significance to chronic infection, as well as one that will provide specific pathways to novel treatments of human schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis. These two diseases represent a massive public health problem with 300 million people infected in the world today. Intervention by ablating parasite-specific Tregs in these patients will solve the specific problems of schistosomiasis and filarial diseases, while at the same time proving a principle which will be applicable to chronic infections in general. 

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